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We thought it would be a good time to update you
regarding the club and cricket in general. We hope that all of our members
and supporters are safe and well and making what they can of these difficult
times. With the drop in infection numbers, it does seem that we are now
past the worst of the initial Coronavirus outbreak and there does appear
to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

From a financial point of view, the enforced closure of the club’s facilities has resulted in a drastically reduced revenue. A full diary of function bookings have had to be cancelled and currently our only regular income is from the HCC Monthly Draw. At £5 per number per month we thank everyone who has joined so far, but we are always on the lookout for new members and if you feel able to join in, please let us know (more information on the HCC Monthly Draw is here).

We would also like to thank all of those members and players
who have been able to pay their membership fees to support the club at this
difficult time. The good news is that we are confident that we are covered
in respect of all of our financial commitments in the short to medium term. We
have been able to take advantage of the Government Business Rates grant and we
have also secured funding from the Sport England Community Emergency Fund and
from the Warburtons Community Fund. This enables us to continue to pay all of
the bills that we cannot avoid such as utilities and insurances.

We should now be well into the cricket season and with the
excellent weather of late April and May, we would barely have missed a ball so
far which is hugely frustrating. We are entirely in the hands of the
government and the ECB for any prospect for cricket being played and with the
Lancashire League’s initial plan for a July start being no longer workable, we
wait to see when or if we will be allowed to take to the field. However in a
more positive development, we have worked hard to implement procedures which
adhere to the recently announced strict ECB guidelines to allow players young
and old to practice in the nets. We will endeavour to keep all members
updated regarding any further developments with regard to training or indeed
play.

On a day to day basis, the club continues to function. Ian
Cameron is cutting the grass and keeping the whole ground in fantastic
condition so that we are ready for any play we may have this season.

We thank you for your support through these difficult and
unprecedented times. If anyone feels that they need support, the
organisation Opening Up promotes positive
mental health to clubs, players and coaches and they are offering a number of
online resources to support people at this time.

In the meantime, stay safe and look after yourselves and we
hope to be back open again soon.

We have received several enquiries about the possibility of resuming cricket practice in light of the updated guidance from the Government issued last night.

The guidance mentions exercise and sport but raises several detailed questions which need to be addressed. Until such time that the ECB issues updated guidance (which they have said that they hope to do later this week see this link: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/1667951/ecb-update-on-the-recreational-game-12-may) the club and its facilities, including the outdoor nets, remain closed and should not be used until further notice.

Thank you for your continued support and we hope that there will be some positive news very soon.

We are sure that you are aware of
recent events surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic and at this time of
uncertainty, we thought it appropriate to update you on how this is impacting
on our cricket club and how our members could help to ease the strain over the
months ahead.

The ECB has taken the decision to
suspend all junior and senior recreational cricket for the foreseeable future.
There has been a meeting of the Lancashire League Cricket Executive where it
was decided that there will be no Cup competitions apart from a T20 competition
and once sanctions are lifted, teams will play each other once with no
promotion or relegation. Clubs will not be penalised if they do not engage a
professional. It is envisaged that cricket will not commence until the
beginning of July at the earliest but obviously that will be kept under review.

As you will be aware the club
closed its doors on Friday 20th March in line with Government
guidelines and all events and functions have had to be cancelled. This will
have a significant financial impact on our club. Our Management Committee
have taken steps to reduce our outgoings during this period of closure and we
hope that there will be some financial support by way of grants from the
Government. We are currently waiting for confirmation with regards to
eligibility and accessing this funding.

Memberships – In the meantime, we are asking our members to continue to support the club by renewing their membership as soon as possible, where they are able to do so. We do know that some people have already renewed their membership and we are very grateful for that support. For those members who are players, we are asking you to pay a non-player membership at this time. Payments can be made by following this link.

Monthly Draw – In addition, we would ask if you could support the club by joining the Monthly Draw if you have not done so already. Entry is £5 per month per number and Prize money will be paid as follows: 1st prize 25% of the monthly pot, 2nd prize 15% of the monthly pot and 3rd prize 10% of the monthly pot. The first draw is tomorrow Saturday 28th March which will be publicised as best we can during the afternoon. To enter follow this link.

We thank you for your support through these difficult and unprecedented times. Stay safe and look after yourselves.

‪With the growing concern around coronavirus (COVID-19) we would like to assure everyone that Haslingden CC are taking extra precautions to keep the clubhouse clean.

The health and well-being of our members and visitors is a priority and we encourage all to follow the precautions set by Public Health England to reduce the chances of passing and receiving the virus.

We are delighted to announce that our professional for 2020 is Senuran Muthusamy. Senuran is an allrounder from Durban who bats left-handed and bowls left arm orthodox spin. He represents the Dolphins franchise and KwaZulu Natal in South Africa’s domestic cricket.

Senuran has excellent statistics at First Class and List A level where he has so far scored almost 5000 runs and taken over 200 wickets. He has also played 2 test matches for South Africa in the recent series in India (2019) where his first test wicket was that of Virat Kholi. The all-rounder has impressed at every level of cricket in South Africa and took the Player of the Year award for the Dolphins franchise in 2017/18.

Senuran is the 5th South African to play for Haslingden following in the footsteps of Peter Swart (1974 to 1977), Stephen Jones (1980), Rob Bentley (1982) and more recently Burton de Wett in 2015.

Everyone at HCC looks forward to welcoming Senuran in April and we wish him well for the 2020 campaign.

I’m very much looking forward to
the challenge ahead, when I was offered the role it was a no brainer to take the
opportunity. I’m quite aware or at least I think I am aware of the difficulties
ahead and complications that come with the captaincy but I’ve got a good group
of people around me plus a VC that having wintered in Australia will be raring
to get back in the mix over here. But ultimately it will be an honour to
represent Haslingden CC as captain and regardless of the outcomes, I appreciate
the opportunity.

What
are your expectations of your first eleven this upcoming season?

The lads are fully aware of what
our expectations are and that’s the main thing. We have to stick together as a
team and find ways to win close games and ways of pulling ourselves out of
tough situations during the closer games, a combination of the above will play
a big part over the duration of the season.

Which
teams are you fancying to mount the biggest challenge for promotion?

Church are a good side, arguably
the best team in the division given a proven league professional in Ashar Zaidi
& some very good amateurs. Whoever finishes above them will have had a good
season. I think Littleborough have a good chance, experience at the top of the
order and a good hard working group of youngsters. Also both Rishton &
Enfield have good solid sides with proven professionals, basically it’s going
to be tough to get out the division!

It
would be nice to have a cup run this season wouldn’t it?

Yes, I’ve been fortunate enough to
play in a Worsley Cup Final albeit on the losing side but they are top days and
the reason you play. We will be looking to mount cup runs in both the t20 &
WC this year, cliché being we’ll just take each game as it comes.

You’ve
got a very youthful side, how will that benefit the club in the long run?

Youthful as in age but not in
experience, the younger lads have all played a lot of cricket, they’ve been in
games where plenty of different game-changing scenarios have happened and
they’ve got to learn from these situations. They’ve been around the first team
environment for a long time now and it’s down to them to stick the hands up,
take some responsibility and make a statement. I’m behind them and will back
them through it all, the platform is there!

We
start the season with a tough away trip to Littleborough, how confident do you
feel you and the lads can secure a big 12 points early on in the campaign?

Yes, we’ll be looking to get off
to a flying start and get some momentum early in the campaign, as I’ve said Littleborough
are a good side and will be a good marker to see how we’ve wintered.

Reflecting
on last season, what improvements do you think you can make this year?

Application, I’m a firm believer
that our side have the ability to beat all the teams in the league. It’s about
applying ourselves better and as above learning from mistakes. Joe Sipocz did a
great job last year but things just didn’t go to plan here & there, so I
wouldn’t say there are a massive number of improvements required, as mentioned
above the lads are aware of the expectations.

We thank you all for your ongoing support and membership of HCC and would take this opportunity to remind all our members that HCC subscriptions for 2020 are due on 1st January and prompt payment would be much appreciated. Membership prices for 2020 have remained the same as 2019. The expiry date of your loyalty card will be set to 31st March 2021 upon receipt of cleared funds.

Payments can be made by cash, or card at the Bar, by BACS (please email us for bank details) or online by clicking on this link Pay Membership.

Haslingden Cricket Club are looking for a permanent full time Bar Manager to manage the Club’s bar, function room and associated duties from April 2020. Please click on the link below for the job description which will give you an idea of what this exciting opportunity involves. Job Description

Prior experience of bar management is preferred. Please send your CV to robyn.payne@live.co.uk in the first instance. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Tuesday the 4th of February. If your application is successful an interview date will be confirmed

The Haslingden Cricket Club Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 27th January 2020 at 7.30pm in the pavilion.

All members are invited to attend and we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to:

Review the club’s accounts for the financial year 1/10/2018 to 30/9/2019

Update you on developments and proposals both on and off the field before the 2020 season commences.

If you have any queries or questions prior to the meeting then please contact our Club Secretary Jayne Hunsley by email: jayne@hunsleylegal.com

The Club’s AGM is your opportunity to have your say and input into the running of your club. We would encourage you to please make every effort to attend as, if you are not in attendance, then you will not be able to vote on any item raised.